Graeme Swann has called on England to rediscover their ruthless streak ahead
of this summer's Test series against West Indies and South Africa.

England enjoyed a sensational 2011, but a 3-0 series defeat against Pakistan in the UAE, followed by a 1-1 draw in Sri Lanka, this year has sent Andrew Strauss's men crashing back down to earth with a bump

"There was a general sense of frustration over how we played in the winter," Swann said.

"I believe we should have won the Test series against Pakistan - we should have won the last two Tests - and we should have been in position to win the series in Colombo as well.

"It is very frustrating. Having fought to get to No 1 in the world, we could not maintain our performances in the winter.

"I think we were too timid as a team. I just don’t think timid cricket is successful, in that part of the world or anywhere."

It nonetheless came as a surprise to him that he was within striking distance of Laker, famed for his 19 wickets in the 1956 Old Trafford Test against Australia - a feat which will surely put the Yorkshireman out on his own forever in cricket history.

Swann's relative personal ambivalence to statistics is the reason Laker's tally was not on his radar. But it will not come as any surprise that he and the current crop of his England team-mates are beginning to rewrite the record books with increasing regularity.

Outstanding individual talent, as well England's collective determination, has taken them to the top of the world Test rankings.

As they seek to consolidate that position after a chastening Asian winter, the building bricks and by-products of success will be the century tallies of Alastair Cook, Kevin Pietersen et al - and the wicket columns of Swann, James Anderson and others. "That's very humbling if I am being put in the same bracket as he is," Swann said of Laker.

"You always want to be rated and compared with the famous names, of the past and in the present.

"What would be great is if I could finish my career and then hear people sitting there and saying to an England bowler 'Do you know, you're only 11 wickets away from Graeme Swann now?"'

Comparisons across the generations can, of course, be unwise and misleading.

But the one between Swann and Laker, the former an orthodox off-spinner in an unorthodox age and his predecessor of the same ilk in an era when many modern varieties had yet to be unearthed, is fair.

Swann has currently played five Tests fewer than the Surrey great, so operates like him at more than four wickets per match.

Even allowing for conditions which may favour seam over the next few weeks, he is on target perhaps not only to go past Laker but to rack up England's first double-century of off-spin victims by the end of the summer.

"It doesn't seem like there'll be that many overs of spin, the way the weather is at the moment," he said.

"I might have to bide my time for a bit to get past him after all."

As for the resonance of Laker in Swann's consciousness, it was never in doubt - albeit lagging slightly behind Emburey.

"I grew up in a cricketing family - eating, drinking, living cricket - so I can't remember not knowing names like Jim Laker.

"It's amazing to think I'm anywhere near the record of someone like him.

"When I was younger, though, it was always John Emburey. He was the off-spinner in situ with England at the time.

"Then when I started out at Northamptonshire, he was in charge there. So I grew up kind of hero-worshipping him."

Swann is the first to admit his career is among those to have benefited from the decision review system - an aid to making lbw decisions, which he believes simply proves he and thousands of spinners before him were right all along.

"DRS is finally putting right all the pain, the punishment of spinners all down the years," he said.

"We were the ones saying 'that's out, that's hitting the stumps' - and being laughed at when the batters kept getting away with it just because they happened to be on the front foot."

Swann must know too that, if there had been DRS to go with uncovered pitches back in the day, he might have still needed a few more wickets to move ahead of Laker - let alone the 297 of slow left-armer Derek Underwood, England's most prolific spinner of all.